Rearview monitoring apparatus for vehicle

Abstract

A CCD camera takes rearview images of a vehicle so as to input them into a superposing image displaying device, and a vehicle index database stores a vehicle index indicating a vehicles's protruding region such as a spare tire for displaying the protruding region over a rear end of a rear reference position such as a bumper of the vehicle in the rearview image. A superposed image displaying device superposes the vehicle index stored in the vehicle index database and the rearview image taken by the CCD camera so as to provide a monitoring device. Thus, a rearview monitoring apparatus for a vehicle for displaying the rearview image of the vehicle and information of the protruding region for occupants in the vehicle can be provided.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a rearview monitoring apparatus for a vehicle which is carried on the vehicle and displays rearview images taken by a camera device to occupants in the vehicle.[0003]2. Description of Related Art[0004]Conventionally, a rearview monitoring apparatus for a vehicle for taking rearview images of the vehicle by a camera and displaying the rearview images as supplementary information for a driver by a monitoring device which is located near a driver's seat is known.[0005]As such an apparatus, for example, an apparatus which comprises a camera for taking a rearview image of the vehicle and a superposing device which displays a vehicle width line indicating the width of the vehicle and a distance line indicating the distance of an obstacle from the vehicle in an image taken by the camera is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 10-151991.[0006]This appara...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a rearview monitoring apparatus for a vehicle that can display a rearview image and information about the vehicle's protruding region, which can collide with obstacles around the vehicle. The apparatus includes a vehicle index storing device that stores a vehicle index representing the vehicle's protruding region and a superposed image displaying device that can display the vehicle's rear reference position and the vehicle's protruding region in the form of an index. This allows the occupants in the vehicle to park the vehicle close to obstacles around the vehicle without colliding with them. The apparatus can also provide more detailed information about the space occupied by the vehicle's protruding region and can help the occupants avoid collisions with obstacles.

Problems solved by technology

However, it was not possible to acknowledge sufficiently the positioning relationship between the vehicle and the obstacle around the vehicle when a protruding object such as a spare tire is attached on the rear end of the vehicle, even though it was possible to acknowledge the positioning relationship between the vehicle and the obstacle around the vehicle by displaying the rear end part of the vehicle in the rearview image of the conventional apparatus.

Thus, there was a problem in that it was impossible to understand the positioning relationship of the obstacles around the vehicle and the spare tire 23 according to the rearview image sufficiently.

Therefore, there was sometimes a problem in that the tailgate of the vehicle could not be opened after the vehicle was parked.

Also, on the other hand, there were problems as follows.

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